Read this before watching PS-1

Who was Cholas?

A dynasty of ancient India. The Cholas (Tamil) were a dynasty of ancient India. The Tamil Chola rulers in South India and other nearby countries built an extremely powerful Hindu kingdom between the 9th century and the 13th century. The Chola Empire and its sphere of influence at the time of its peak (1050 AD)

How old is the history of the Cholas?

Their name is recorded in the inscriptions of Ashoka, that is, even before Ashoka, there were Cholas in South India, along with their arch rivals Cheras and Pandyas. Megasthenes tells about the Pandya kingdom that the daughter of Heracles (Krishna) ruled here, that is, the maternal authority was here from the beginning. After the confluence age, there is also a slight mention of the Buddhist and Jain righteous Kalabhra rulers in the middle, then again. Usually know that :-

Chola = Tamil region
Chera = Kerala
Pandya = region of far south coast Kanyakumari/Madurai

How did the Chola dynasty originate?

The Chola Empire was founded by Vijayalaya Chola, a feudal chieftain of the Pallavas. Vijayalaya founded the Chola dynasty in the 9th century (850 – 871 AD). He captured Tanjore in 850 AD and invaded the Pandya kingdom. The inscription of the Kalinga king Kharavela in the 1st century BC mentions the 113-year-old Tamil sangha (this is the Sangam age, that is, it is important evidence that it remained powerful even then). 

Rajaraja I was the greatest emperor born in the Chola Empire, the film Ponnayin Selvan is made on him.

The protagonist of Mani Ratnam's film i.e. Ponniyin Selvan was Rajaraja I or Arulmozhi Varman, the greatest ruler of the Chola dynasty. Born in 947 AD, Raja I ruled from 985 AD to 1014 AD. The Chola Empire was at its peak during the reign of Raja I and his son Rajendra I.

At that time the Chola Empire extended from Maldives and Malaysia in the south to Sri Lanka and the Godavari River of Andhra in the north. Raja I is counted among the most powerful emperors of South India, who conquered almost the whole of South India. His empire extended to modern Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sri Lanka. They had annexed the Gangavadi Territory (present-day Karnataka state) and Kerala and northern Sri Lanka by 996 AD. By 1014 AD, Raja I had captured Lakshadweep and Maldives islands. Raja I received the title of 'Mumudi Chola', which means Chola, Chera and Pandya i.e. the one who bears the three crowns. 

His son Rajendra I, after capturing the whole of Sri Lanka, captured the area of ​​Deccan and also conducted military campaigns in the area of ​​the Ganges river in the north. Rajendra I extended the Chola Empire to Sumatra (Indonesia) and Malay (Malaysia).

Rajendra I had also defeated King Mahipala of the Pala dynasty who ruled Pataliputra while conducting a military campaign towards the east. It is said that Rajendra I had invaded the Gangetic plains only for the Ganges water and he brought Ganga water from Bengal and offered it to the Brihadeshwara temple, built by his father Raj I in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu.

After this Rajendra I made his new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram located in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu. The Chola dynasty began to decline a few years after the death of Rajendra I in 1044 AD and came to an end with the death of Rajendra III in 1279.

The great power of the Cholas is mentioned in the Sangam literature, including the Chola king Karikala (190 A.D.) who had already become the suzerain of the ocean (sea fleet) before the later imperialist Cholas. These three dynasties had maritime trade links with the Roman Empire (innumerable Roman coins and Roman wine jugs from around the 1st century have been excavated in amphorae from South India).

After disappearing from the main politics for a few centuries, the Cholas became important again in 850 AD by a ruler named Vijayalaya, who were still ruling as feudatories of the Pallavas ("Pallava dynasty" in Tamil from the 3rd century AD after the Sangam age). had become the greatest ruler of the region). Vijayalaya's grandson Parantaka I conquered Madura under the Pandya rule and became the Sirmour ruler of South India. The rule of the Pallavas was also finally ended. Nevertheless, the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan Maharashtra and the Ganga rulers in Mysore continued to dominate.

Then in a few decades comes the Chola king Rajaraja the Great, the most powerful Chola king who started the Lanka conquest, created the Chola kingdom in Lanka, also conquered the Maldives. A new era of naval supremacy began, the heaviest of which were the Cholas. It also defeated the Rashtrakutas, the Ganges and the Chalukyas of the west coast and Andhra. The titles were:- Chola Martand, Cholendra Singh.

Now it was the turn to show the glory of his navy, on the strength of his powerful navy, he hoisted the flag of victory over the parts of the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra and imprisoned the Shailendra dynasty ruler Vijayotunga Varman, Vijayotunga Varman to rule under his suzerainty. After making promises, he was returned to the kingdom. Ambassadors were sent by the Cholas, making friendship and trade relations with China.

During this great campaign, the Pandyas and Cheras started revolt in the South Indian Chola Empire, voices of protest also started rising in Lanka, Rajendra led the prince Rajadhiraja here. Then examples are given of the brutality with which the Chola army suppressed these rebellions.

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